


It’s The Little Things That Go A Long Way

by justlittleoldunkillableme (AmbecaWatson)



Series: The Family Dinners [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Established Relationship, Flower Crowns, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-27
Updated: 2014-02-27
Packaged: 2018-01-13 23:34:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1244500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmbecaWatson/pseuds/justlittleoldunkillableme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bobby’s and Crowley’s relaxing picnic brings various new heights of embarrassment for Dean</p>
            </blockquote>





	It’s The Little Things That Go A Long Way

It was one of the rare occasions where the boys all arrived home together. They all had decided to take a long weekend and now all found themselves on the lawn on which Dean and Sam had played when they were boys.  
They were a little early though, so they decided to surprise their fathers and to sneak into the house. Dean let themselves in with the key they still had, in case of emergency, but they didn’t find them in the house. They all went rather worriedly to the back garden only to see Bobby and Crowley wearing swimming trunks and daisy chain flower crowns in their hair while basking in the light shadow under a tree that was still crowned with their old tree house. Bobby lazily petted Crowley’s head that laid on his chest while Crowley drank a homemade margarita from a salt crusted cocktail glass. The margarita was obviously from the pitcher next to the picnic blanket. Bobby didn’t drink but lazily held his beard into the sun, clearly content with everything and happy as a pig in mud.  
“Oh, wow! A visual I’ll never forget. What’s going on? Have you decided you needed hippie flashbacks?” Dean was the first to recover from the imagery, but held a hand over his eyes to not see it anymore.  
“Stop whatever you’re doing there, you’ve got company.” He turned to the others. “I’m scarred for life now.” Gabriel barked laughter at him, and Cas’ expression showed the usual bemused smile he always wore when Dean did something adorable without realizing it.  
Crowley looked up at them dozily, but his face widened in a big grin when he saw who intruded on his private heaven with Bobby.  
“Hello, boys! You’re early.” He got over to them enthusiastically and squeezed everyone in a very tight hug and at least Sam and Dean were very glad, that he at least wore swimming trunks. Too much naked skin on either of their fathers always creeped them out; Crowley had often called them prudes for that. “Why don’t you join Bobby and me in our sunbathing? It is very relaxing.”  
Dean had closed his eyes again. “Only if you at least get t-shirts or something. I mean, come on, you’re half naked.” Dean’s face wore a disgruntled I’m-gonna-need-therapy-for-this expression.  
“You can only be glad you arrived now, because an hour ago, we were totally naked.” Crowley grinned at Dean maliciously.  
“Oh my god, Crowley.” Dean cringed at that. “I didn’t need to know that.” He frowned and put a hand over his eyes again exhaustedly.  
Bobby, who hadn’t bothered to get up in the first place because he was just too relaxed, wasn’t sure which faces were funnier. Dean’s why-the-hell-am-I-living face, Crowley’s devious grin, Cas’ puppy dog eyes as he stared adoringly at his confused boyfriend, or Sam’s and Gabe’s looking at each other with the expression in their mutual gaze, that they found Cas’ heartwarming eternal crush on Dean simply too precious for words.  
“Ye idjits get your butts over here right now and Crowley, get some shirts for us, or Dean will drop dead from embarrassment.” Bobby, as always, had the last word in the matter. 

They all sat down on the picnic blanket, even though Dean still looked very uncomfortable. Cas curled round Dean’s back, crossed his arms over Dean’s chest and laid his head on Dean’s shoulder, because he simply couldn't help himself; he wanted to ease the situation for Dean a little. Dean leaned in to Cas’ touch and let his hand glide over Cas’ arm for a while, but when he realized what he was doing and saw Bobby look at them with an expression that could almost be called soft, he stopped himself.  
“Cas, could you move a little, there is enough space on this blanket.”  
“No, I can’t and won’t move, Dean, because no space on here is as comfortable as where I am now”, said Cas, peeking up at Dean’s face over his shoulder and pressing a little kiss just an inch under his ear, half closing his eyes.  
In that moment Crowley reemerged from the house with some t-shirts for him and Bobby and a tray with two other pitchers and some glasses. He smirked when he saw Dean and Cas entangled like this, Cas was just pressing his nose into the nook of Dean’s neck to inhale Dean’s scent, and Dean was making a disgruntled face, that showed that he clearly didn’t want anyone so see how much he enjoyed this. He blushed a little and Crowley couldn’t help remark:  
“Cassie darling, stop harassing my boy this instant, before his head turns into a tomato for good.” He set the tray down and tossed Bobby a shirt, who only slipped into it under protest.  
This didn’t help matters, because Dean turned scarlet at once and from the direction where Sam and Gabriel sat next to each other, two dirty laughs could be heard which showed an equal teasing enjoyment of the situation. Gabriel used the situation to say: “Bobby, you must let me try on your crown, it is fabulous.”  
Bobby took off his flower crown and handed it over.  
“Don’t squeeze it though, Crowley would be mad if ye did that.”  
Gabriel took the daisy crown and put it onto his head with the enthusiasm of a five-year-old at Christmas.  
“What’re thinking, Sammy? Shall I wear this to the wedding?” He blinked at Sam winningly. Sam showed his biggest toothy smile and said: “I don’t care what you’re wearing, I’ll marry you either way, but you look really adorable.” Sam leaned in to give his fiance a kiss. Cas and Crowley gave a long “Aww” and Bobby looked a little teary-eyed, even though he tried to hide it; his usual remark (“Idjits!”) at least didn’t sound as harsh as he usually said it. Dean was now completely uncomfortable. “What’s going on with all of you? Are you on hormone pills?”  
“Don’t be so grumpy, love, you’re not half as good at that like my Bobby dearest” intoned Crowley. “It seems like you need a little fairy magic, too” and before Dean could even say anything (let alone do anything to hide, because Cas still held him), Crowley had crowned him with his own flower crown. “There. I crown thee, Princess Deanna, queen of the fairies.”  
Dean’s expression was priceless. He looked at the same time outraged and befuddled.  
Crowley looked at him mockingly stern and waddled his finger in front of him. “If you take that off Dean, you’re not eating anything today. Bobby and I prepared some delicious patties, because we thought our boys might enjoy a barbecue?”  
At that, there was a general affirmative noise all around, Bobby grumbled that Crowley “hadn’t prepared jack squat, he had just been in the way, jappin’” which obviously ensued a little squabble between the elder men during which Cas whispered quietly into Dean’s ear: “You look lovely” so that no one but Dean could hear it. This seemed to have an effect on him. Dean wasn’t much for public display of affection, but this was his family and his Cas, maybe he should give himself a break.  
It felt too good for the whole family to have Dean and Cas happy again after the whole thing with the notorious ex-boyfriend and maybe this was the reason why everyone was a gooey-eyed romantic today. Dean obviously gave himself the little what-the-hell speech in his head, because he turned round to the mushy thing that was Cas and gave him a deep, long kiss.  
It didn’t even bother him much that Crowley, Gabe and Sam gave a big “Hurray!” shout at that and Crowley straightened his back importantly to state that his fairy magic was unsurpassed in romantic endeavours and was about to give a little speech in which supposedly he wanted to allude to some or other amorous affair of his, but Bobby cut him short, by demanding he’d pour drinks for the boys and shut his pie hole in the meantime. Crowley in turn demanded to know which hole he was supposed to shut, but Bobby threw an old rubber duck at him that had allegedly been lying in the garden since the days in which Sam and Dean had had a paddling pool under the tree and Crowley didn’t say anything inappropriate for a while.

Later that evening, while Sam and Dean as the tallest and strongest, were bringing out camping tables and chairs so they could eat in the garden and Bobby powered up the grill in an apron that read “Born to grill” with a huge meat fork in his hand and Crowley by his side, complimenting him on this look, Gabriel and Castiel were in the kitchen preparing salad and bread.  
Gabriel, who was still wearing the flower crown asked Cas: “So, Cassie how are things?”  
Cas thought about this while he sliced some tomatoes. “Things are good” he said simply when he let the slices fall into the salad bowl.  
“That ass-clown is nowhere in sight, then?” Gabriel alluded to Balthazar.  
“I wouldn’t know, Gabriel, after that last time where I told him I had no interest in him whatsoever, he desisted from calling me again. Maybe he is still in the state, maybe not. I don’t really care.”  
Gabriel was relieved. Obviously, Cas really had moved on and had evolved personally beyond any feelings for people who weren’t good for him. Gabriel recalled a time when Cas’ self-confidence was practically non-existent, but he was glad to find that his best friend had gotten much better and Gabe thought that Cas’ boost in confidence came directly from Dean.

Down in the cellar, Sam asked the same question as his loved one up in the kitchen. “So Dean, is everything alright now?” Dean knew what Sammy was asking, but he brought out all the chairs before he answered him. He thought about it for a while. He pondered about how things had been before and how they were now. He finally said: “Things couldn’t be better, Sammy.”  
“Yeah?”  
“Yeah, the whole thing is past now and I think it’s even better than before.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Well”, Dean scratched his head, looking for words. “Cas is really great, he always was, but lately he’s grown a little -you know- grown more confident.” Dean thought about the afternoon and Cas simply refusing to let go of holding Dean because he wanted it and knew that Dean’s grumbling wasn’t earnest. Old Cas would have just let go, because he was too timid to stand his ground, but new Cas didn’t back down. “I don’t know, Sammy” said Dean, who couldn’t put this feeling in words. “All I know is that it’s right and I feel good.”  
Sam beamed at him. “That’s good, man. I’m glad you’re happy.” He pulled Dean into a hug. Dean rolled his eyes a little but he hugged back; Sam had always been a huge sucker for happy endings. 

Dean and Sam organized the table and chairs and Crowley helped because Bobby had threatened to hand the meat fork over to him, so he’d have to grill the burgers. Since there was no way he’d do that, Crowley took Sam and went on a hunt for a tablecloth, candles and serviettes. Gabriel brought out the bread and immediately was recruited by Bobby to help put the burgers together.  
Dean went in to the kitchen and there he saw Cas utterly focused on cutting up lettuce.  
He smirked. “Looking good, baby, it could only be better if you’d slice a pie.”  
Cas looked up, his brow frizzled, but his whole countenance lit up when he saw Dean.  
“I don’t seem to be good at making a salad. Look, all the pieces are uneven.” Dean looked over into the bowl of salad Cas was preparing. “I don’t know, looks good enough to me, for rabbit food at least.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah, and since you made it, I’ll even eat some of it.” He pulled Cas closer and kissed him. Cas leaned in and between the movements of their lips he whispered: “I’ll hold you to that promise, Dean.”  
“I know”, said Dean caressing Cas’ hairline at his neck. The old Cas would have asked if Dean was serious and really meant what he said, the new one instead wrapped his arms around Dean greedily and confident. Just then, Crowley burst into the kitchen in search of serviette rings, only to say: “Hello boys, don’t mind me. Keep on snogging, I’ll just sit here quietly and enjoy the show, shall I?” and sat down, staring intently at the both of them as if he expected a great movie on a big screen. Dean was embarrassed again, but Cas only chuckled deeply and turned his attention back to the salad. 

Dinner was great, they all conceded. They complimented Bobby’s burgers and Gabriel begged for acknowledgement that he did toast the bread and helped prepare the burgers and was only satisfied when they gave him an encore. Everyone dug into Castiel’s salad, and even Dean said that it was good, even though he really didn’t like green food. They decided to all watch a movie together since the boys were staying the whole weekend, they didn’t have to drive home today. Dean and Cas readily took the armchair because the couch as much as they tried wouldn’t hold more than four people. It gave Dean a chance to retaliate Cas’ hug attack from the afternoon when he slung his arms around Cas from behind and leaned against him.  
They watched Sunset Boulevard because Bobby had a particular fondness for noir movies and this movie reminded him that not everything that glitters is golden and how lucky they all were to be happy with their lives. After Gloria Swanson was again happy with her close-up, Crowley rose to his feet for a few words before they all went to bed.  
“Well, boys. We should all take that as a lesson that reality is what we make ourselves, and I must say; I am very happy with the way our reality as a family plays out so far, when sometimes helped with a little fairy trick that helps even Dean to sacrifice his soul to salad.”

After Crowley’s last words they all got themselves ready for bed. Sam and Gabe went first, bidding everyone goodnight as they went up the stairs.  
Cas untangled himself from Dean and picked the flower crown out of his hair, which Dean had clean forgotten about.  
“Man, did I really run around with daisies in my hair all day?”  
“You did” said Cas plainly and handed the flower crown back to Crowley. “But I think, I like you better without this embellishment.”  
Crowley couldn’t be stopped in saying: “We know Cassie, you like our Dean best without any embellishments on” and he even wriggled his eyebrows at them.  
Cas wasn’t embarrassed, though. He grinned at Crowley with a smile that lacked nothing from deviousness and said “You’re right, Crowley, but you still won’t get a showing of me without embellishments.”  
Dean laughed heartily and placed his arm around Cas’ hip to lead him out of the living room. Bobby and Crowley could still hear him chuckle when they closed their door behind them.  
Crowley turned to Bobby: “Well, Robert, my dearest, shall we call it a night, too?”  
Bobby grimaced a little. “Ye know, I don’t like bein’ called Robert.”  
“Yes. How would you intend to pay me back for this insolence?”  
“Oh, don’t worry, you’ll get what’s coming to you.” Bobby yawned deeply at that. “Maybe not today, though, I’m stone dead tired, relaxin’ is exhausting.”  
Bobby looked ready to fall asleep on the spot so Crowley led him up the stairs to their own bedroom and when they had changed into their pajamas, Bobby yawned again deeply. Crowley snuggled close and Bobby snickered sleepily into his beard: “Don’t you go molesting me, Mr. Magicfairy.”  
“Wouldn’t dream of it”, and when Crowley fell asleep he really didn’t dream of it.


End file.
